


tis the season (for judgmental family reunions)

by fate-motif (Jo_Girard)



Category: Fantastic Four (2015)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Christmas, Gen, also a couple of slurs in spanish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5352119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jo_Girard/pseuds/fate-motif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set a year after the two partners-in-crime meet, Ben helps Reed weather through a cold and what all holidays embody: family meetings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tis the season (for judgmental family reunions)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [earlhollister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlhollister/gifts).



“So they’re gone?”

“No, just your next-door neighbors.” Ben closed the door to the garage quietly. “You don’t usually get these many relatives over, do you?”

It was too easy to tell by the way twelve-year-old Reed had chosen especially large and warm blankets - plural - to drape over him while he crouched over the laptop at the table. But Reed still deigned himself to moan out an honest “No,” before returning to whatever new programming thingamajig he had discovered this season. Ben promptly went over to his friend and offered him the mug of hot chocolate he had sneaked upstairs for. Reed didn’t notice it until Ben passed it right over his ear and the heat made him yelp. After regaining his composure, he tentatively thanked his friend and took his offer.

“This is the one day of the year my parents like to be social,” complained Reed after a sip. “Any other day they couldn’t care less about family, until it’s Christmas. Then they - ” Reed coughed, “invite people I haven’t met in years, from countries I don’t know where they are, I…”

Ben waited until Reed was all ranted out to speak next.

“You don’t like people in general, right.”

Reed turned back to Ben, hurt all over his face.

Ben sighed. “Not like that. I mean, there are some people who don’t like social situations, you know.” Reed’s eyes were fixed on his friend, still not understanding. “They’re not comfortable with too many people around them and asking them to react and react how they want...least that’s how I understand it. It’s called social anxiety. I know...a few people on my family that have it.”

Reed tilted his head. “I saw something like that on a webpage a while ago. I was looking up symptoms.” The last sentence he hurried over; whatever was loading before on his computer was done.

This was Ben’s turn to be thrown off. “For what?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Reed did his best to cover up his protest - by avoiding eye contact via computer screen. “Just didn’t feel OK in class the other day.”

“Oh.” It dawned on Ben. “That other presentation we had to do?”

“Yeah.” At least Reed was looking at him in the eye now, but it still sounded a little dishonest.

“Yeah, it could be social anxiety,” agreed Ben. Privately, he was suspecting something else was on Reed’s mind, but Ben was not sure he wanted to hear about it.

Their little escape from the Richards Christmas reunion was cut short by the sound of the opening door and some echoing Spanish from the rest of the house. This prompted Reed to shake off the covers, stand up, and hurry to the doors of the garage. “Shit! It’s my aunt Lucía,” muttered Reed. “You’ve got to go. She’s...she’s the worst, and she’s going to call you a _marica retardado_ and all those things in Spanish she calls me that I don’t even understand but I know that’s not what anyone wants to hear, especially not from her - ” Reed undid the lock of the garage doors with a flourish. “Be free, okay?”

Ben stepped back. “No.”

The wind ruffled Reed’s hair, making him look even more bewildered. “What?”

“Come on. This is better than my place, believe me.” Reed did not move from his spot, so Ben had to close to doors for both of them. “Why are you looking like that?”

“This is _torture_ ,” mumbled Reed. He met Ben's eyes for the first time in that day, “I don’t understand why you’d go through this by _choice_.”

Ben laughed.

“ _Y estos muñequitos?_ ”

That was enough to wipe any trace of happiness from their faces.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't look up what Aunt Lucía calls Reed, it's homophobic and ableist.
> 
> So trying to write some Benreed fluff for earlhollister, I hit several roadblocks as I realized that I could relate to nearly nothing of the great White Christmas experience! As I live in Costa Rica. No snow, no sledding, no hot chocolate or anything cute and seasonal. However, I realized that there is one thing that all holidays share no matter the place or time, and it's awkward, judgmental meetings with relatives you've barely met and don't remember, who try your patience and who will immediately pounce on you if you don't want to spend time with them. Also, I am operating on the headcanon that Reed has family in Panamá, hence the destination in the film. Anyways, happy holidays!


End file.
